Personal watercraft, commonly referred to by the acronym "PWCs", have become extremely popular among boating and water sports participants. However, PWCs have experienced some disfavor. Chief among complaints against PWCs is that these machines can be noisy, even when not operated in a high-powered or reckless manner. In various locales, restrictions have been imposed upon PWC operations that commonly include: speed limits; operating curfew times; and prohibiting operation of PWCs in a portion of, or even an entire expanse of, a body of water.
Another disadvantage to operation of PWCs results from practical considerations of a large group of users. That is, given their small size, PWCs are not capable of accommodating or transporting a large group of people throughout a body of water.
In response to these disadvantages, operators have attempted to tow their PWCs behind larger towing vessels, such as, for example, pontoon boats, by way of simple towropes. In this manner, a PWC may be operated in a water area where noise and operating concerns are not a factor, and so that the PWC may be available for use by various members of the flotilla.
For the most part, towing a PWC behind a towing vessel is difficult when using a towrope. A tow rope provides only a pulling action on the PWC; consequently, when the towing vessel slows its speed, the PWC will typically impact the towing boat's stern, possibly causing damage to both vessels.
Another disadvantage of using a towrope is that in operation, the towrope may become slack. In this situation, a portion of the towrope may then sink below the water's surface, to a depth where the rope portion may become entangled or fouled in the towing vessel's propeller or propulsion means.
A further problem associated with towropes pertains to difficulties in safely navigating both the towing vessel and the PWC. That is, a typical tow rope does not ensure longitudinal "tracking" of the PWC behind the towing vessel; when using a tow rope, a PWC may "drift" considerably from side-to-side behind the towing vessel.
Attempts have been made to alleviate these aforementioned towing problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,779 entitled "Watercraft Tow Bar" issued to Grinde provides a tow bar assembly for a PWC and towing vessel. Grinde teaches the use of a tow bar constructed by way of a generally longitudinally incompressible, but vertically flexible, bar member. However, tow bars, such as that of the aforementioned Grinde patent, require complicated mounting hardware and tend to be heavy and cumbersome in assembly and in operation.
Thus, there exists a need for a towing apparatus which effectively couples two vessels together for towing purposes in a manner which (i) provides a minimum separation distance between the vessels to aid in preventing their collision; (ii) cannot be entangled in the propeller or other components of the towing vessel; and (iii) permits good navigability or "tracking" of the vessels.